UK-based pay-TV broadcaster BSkyB has purchased further shares in sister company Sky Deutschland following the completion of its voluntary takeover offer.
When the takeover offer to the minority shareholders was finalised on November 12, 2014 BSkyB’s subsidiary Sky German Holdings owned 87.45% in Sky Deutschland. Following the offer period, Sky German Holdings acquired additional shares bringing its total shareholding to 89.71%.
The transaction is part of BSkyB’s £5 billion move to combine its operations in the UK and Ireland with Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia to benefit from synergies in areas such as content, technology and logistics, for example in movie and sports rights acquisitions or commissioning of set-top-boxes.
In the context of the completion of the voluntary takeover offer from Sky German Holdings, Sky entered into a financial support agreement with BSkyB. As a result, BSkyB with its subsidiaries British Sky Broadcasting Limited, BSkyB Finance UK plc, Sky In-Home Service Limited and Sky Subscribers Services Limited have replaced Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. and its subsidiary 21st Century Fox America as guarantors for Sky’s bank credit facilities.
The commitment of Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. in regards to the Bundesliga guarantee remains unchanged.
The existing shareholder loans with a nominal value of €106 million have been transferred from 21st Century Fox Adelaide Holdings B.V. to Sky International Operations Limited.
